The Collectors debuted in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1961 as a house band (the C-FUN Classics)
for CFUN radio, and renamed itself The Collectors in 1966. The band featured Howie Vickers (Howard Vickberg) on lead vocals, Bill Henderson on lead guitar, recorder, keyboards, and lead vocals (these last mostly on Grass and Wild Strawberries), Claire Lawrence on tenor saxophone, harmonica, keyboards, flute, organ, recorder, and vocals, Glenn Miller on bass and vocals, and Ross Turney on drums and percussion.
Miller replaced Newcombe on bass and Bill Henderson, a student at UBC, replaced Frewer on guitars, and with Vickers now handling vocals, they matured their sound, they gradually replaced the R&B sounds and the covers with their own material, and graduated out of that one club and began playing the rest of the west coast, on both sides of the border. They did particularly well in California, where audiences were warm to the complex arrangements mixed with harmonies and extended solos and musical ad-libs.
The Collectors' biggest hit was their first single, 'Looking at a Baby', released in March 1967 on the
Valiant label in the U.S. and on New Syndrome in Canada. It reached #4 on Toronto's CHUM-AM on April 24, 1967. Valiant was then acquired by Warner Bros. Records. In 1967 the group released its first album, The Collectors, on the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts label and appeared on sessions for the US group The Electric Prunes' album Mass in F Minor.
During this time, they’d by now contributed to the soundtracks of three Canadian films, “Don’t Let The Angels Fall,” “Canada The Land,” and “The Land.” After parting ways with Warner Bros, they landed a
new deal with London Records by late ’69. But by this time Vickers was spending much of his time doing solo shows, and decided to leave the group. Henderson took over the vocal duties, and their new label released a pair of singles by the summer of 1970, “I Must Have Been Blind” and “Sometimes We’re Up.” The b-sides were parts one and two of “Beginning,” and the proposed new album was set to be an epic saga concept type record, which never materialized.
In 1987 a renewed interest in The Collectors came about after Edsel Records in the UK released a
compilation of the band’s two albums, mixed in with their pre-lp singles, 17 tracks in all. Four years later, they were featured on a compilation documenting the West Coast scene’s evolution – The History of Vancouver Rock & Roll. In 2008 the original two albums were re-released on compact disc through Universal Music.
THE COLLECTORS - THE COLLECTORS 1967
The Collectors’ self-titled album hit the shelves in the fall of ’67 and featured the first single “Lydia Purple,” penned by Don Dunn and Lynda McCashen, which got huge airplay at home. But a mix of experimental studio techniques and attempts at translating the California flowers and beads scene to a Canadian flowers and sea shells vibe didn’t necessarily make for great album sales, according to the
label reps. With “What Love (Suite)” taking up the whole second side, some people just didn’t get it and the record stalled before cracking Billboard’s top 40. This is despite the fact the song was actually a hit in parts of Europe. Still, the album mixed a good deal of classical influences into the melodies and with good vocal harmonies, later became recognized by the critics as a groundbreaking record that attempted to cross several musical boundaries.
The Collectors – The Collectors
Label: Linea Records – LECD 9.01009, Line – LECD 9.01009 O
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1991
Country: Germany
Released: 1967
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. What Is Love 3:51
02. She (Will-O-The-Wind) 3:51
03. Howard Christman's Older 5:08
04. Lydia Purple 2:47
05. One Act Play 3:42
06. What Love (Suite) 19:06
LINE - UP
Bass, Vocals – Glenn Miller
Cello – Jesse Ehrlich (tracks: 4)
Drums, Percussion – Ross Turney
Guitar, Recorder, Vocals – Bill Henderson
Lead Vocals – Howie Vickersll Henderson
Piano, Harpsichord – Larry Knechtel (tracks: 4)
Tenor Saxophone, Organ, Flute, Recorder, Vocals – Claire Lawrence
Vibraphone – Norm Jeffries (tracks: 4)
Written-By – Don Dunn (tracks: 4), The Collectors, Tony McCashen (tracks: 4)
Flac Size: 239 MB
THE COLLECTORS - GRASS AND WILD STRAWBERRIES 1968
Their follow up, again recorded in LA came in the form of GRASS AND WILD STRAWBERRIES in
the fall of ’68. A collaboration with the poet and playwrite George Ryga, the album was based on his stage play of the same name. The songs were shorter, more plentiful, a little more toned down and slightly less out in left field,making them more palatable to the general public. The single “Early Morning” was on the stands early the next year and other cuts like the title track, “Teletype Click,” and “Seventeenth Summer” showcased the band’s development and maturity.
The Collectors – Grass And Wild Strawberries
Label: Linea Records – LECD 9.01013 O
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1991
Country: Germany
Released: 1968
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Prelude 4:46
02. Grass & Wild Strawberries 2:08
03. Things I Remember 2:46
04. Don't Turn Away (From Me) 3:09
05. Teletype Click 2:55
06. Seventeenth Summer 3:28
07. The Long Rain 2:56
08. My Love Delights Me 2:23
09. Dream Of Desolation 2:34
10. Rainbow On Fire 2:52
11. Early Morning 3:32
12. Sheep On The Hillside 4:16
LINE - UP
Bass, Vocals – Glenn Miller
Drums – Ross Turney
Lead Vocals – Howie Vickers
Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards – Bill Henderson
Lyrics By, Liner Notes – George Ryga
Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards, Harmonica, Vocals – Claire Lawrence
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